Wood-chipping machine

ABSTRACT

A mobile device into which portions of a tree may be inserted to be rendered down into wood chips to be used for mulching, litter, and other uses. A hydraulic ram forces the tree portions into engagement with a cylindrical drum with knife edges attached thereto which renders the tree portion advancing thereon into chips.

United States Patent Joseph P. Rinke Bellwood, Nebr. 68624 WOOD-CHIPPINGMACHINE 5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

144/172, 241/282 Int. Cl B271 11/02 Field of Search 162; 241/282, 280,101, mobile crusher [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 527,81210/1894 Roberts 241/282X 3,025,895 3/1962 Girard 144/172 3,223,12912/1965 Nicholson 144/172X 3,244,207 4/1966 Kasseretal 144/162X PrimaryExaminer-Dona1d R. Schran Attorneys-Clarence A. OBrien and Harvey B.Jacobson ABSTRACT: A mobile device into which portions of a tree may beinserted to be rendered down into wood chips to be used for mulching,litter, and other uses. A hydraulic ram forces the tree portions intoengagement with a cylindrical drum with knife edges attached theretowhich renders the tree portion advancing thereon into chips.

PATENTEU FEB 2197! SHEET 1 BF 3 Joseph P. R/n/re IN VliN'I'OK.

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N\\ am PATENTED FEB 2 i971 SHEET 2 [IF 3 Joseph P. Rlnke mm E mm wmwm &w 9m 9 PATENTEU FEB 2 IHYI SHEET 3 OF 3 Joseph P. R/n/re INI IiN'I'OICWOOD-CHIPPING MACHINE The production of wood chips, in the past, hasbeen the by product of other items produced from trees. With therecognition of the value and varied uses of wood chips the demand forsame has become very great thereby requiring specialized machinery toproduce them. The great demand for wood chips has been brought about bythe fact that their high calcium and potash content makes them goodfertilizers, as well as their use as livestock bedding, mulch, andlitter to name but a few.

The present invention relates to a device that will grind up the woodenparts of trees into chips suitable for the many uses to which wood chipsare put. The device comprises a closed chamber with a ram traversingtherealong to feed the wood therein into engagement with a rotatingcylinder with chipping knives located on the cylindrical surfacethereof. The device is mobile thereby containing its own power to drivethe chipping apparatus, and can have its own self-propulsion, tofacilitate the use of the chipping device at whatever site the wood canbe located or wherever the chips might be needed. The device isrelatively simple in construction and thereby durable and easy tomaintain. The design of the chipping mechanism can produce a largeamount of chips for sustained periods of time and the size of the chipscan be varied by changing the chipping knives.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a wood chippingdevice that is simple but unique and can be transported to the site ofthe wood or to the site where the chips are needed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device to producewood chips from large pieces of wood.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device forchipping of wood that encloses the chipping mechanism and wood to bechipped and is, therefore, safe and simple to use.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a device forchipping wood that is efi'icient in operation and can handle largequantities of wood.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the mobile wood-chipping device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 ofFIG. I with some parts thereof in elevation.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a section of the chipping drum.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a self-propelled version of thewood-chipping device.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a wood-chipping drum modified to cutlarge chips.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along substantially the line 8-8 ofFIG. 7.

Referring now to the drawing, numeral 10 generally indicates the mobilewood-chipping device, with the chassis of the device indicated at 12,the chipping mechanism indicated at 14, and the feeder device 16 for thechipping mechanism.

The chassis I2 of the mobile chipping device is comprised of two mainlongitudinal beams 18 which are connected at the front by a cross brace20 and at the rear by a cross brace 22. There is an additional frontcross brace 24 spaced to the rear of cross brace 20 and an additionalrear brace 26 spaced forward to the rear cross brace 22. A pair ofbearing blocks 28 are fixed to the rails 18 near the rear thereof toprovide the mounting for the rear wheel assembly. A shaft 30 extendingthrough the bearing blocks 28 provides the axis of rotation for thewheels 32 mounted thereon. This wheel installation is relatively simpleand sturdy and merely illustrates one method of mounting the rear wheelsof the chassis. Similarly, the front wheel assembly of the device may bemounted in any convenient manner with one such method being shown in thedrawings. The mounting therein being accomplished by a pair of parallelspaced abutments 34 with aligned apertures 36 therethrough, mounted oneach end of the front cross brace 20. A pair of wheel-mounting shafts 38have a perpendicularly extending portion 40 which extends through thealigned apertures 36 and is fixed to the abutments 34. A horizontalportion 42 is attached to the lower end of the perpendicular portion 40which in turn has a second perpendicular portion 44 attached thereto anda web portion 45 extending therebetween to insure rigidity. A wheel 46and stub shaft 48 therefor are attached to the lower end of each of thesecond perpendicular portions 44 of the wheel-mounting shafts 38. Tofacilitate the moving about of the mobile-chipping device a tow bar 50can be provided therefor which is mounted to the front cross member 20by the pivot assembly 52. This then completes the basic chassis of thechipping device which has all the necessary features to mount the devicethereon.

The chipping mechanism 14 is comprised of a chipping drum housing 54with the chipping drum 56 joumaled for rotation therein, which is drivenby a motor assembly 58. The chipping mechanism 14 further has a logchamber 60 attached to the drum housing to hold the logs that are beingfed thereinto. The chipping drum housing 54 has two spaced parallel sideplates 62 which are connected across the top by a plate 64 and in frontthereof by a sloping plate 66. The chipping drum housing has additionalbracing members fastened to the side plates 62 which comprise invertedU-shaped members 68 with the base thereof extending parallel to the topsurface of the housing and the legs thereof extending angularly downwardwhich, in addition to further bracing, supports the drum for rotationtherein. The housing is attached to the chassis with the lower edge ofthe side plates 62 fixed to the longitudinal beams 18 and the lower edgeof the front sloping member 66 fixed to the cross member 24.

The chipping drum assembly 56 comprises a cylindrical member 7 0 withend plates 72 closing the open ends thereof and of a size to fit withinthe housing 54 for rotation therewithin. The cylindrical member 70 ofthe drum assembly has a series of parallel rings 74 attached around thecircumference thereof in parallel spaced relation. The rings 74 have aseries of threaded openings 76 around the circumference thereof toreceive the teeth 78 held thereon by bolts 80 received in the openings76. The teeth 78 comprise a base portion 82 with an angularly upward andoutwardly extending chisel point 84. The base portion 82 has a hole 86therethrough to receive the bolt 80 to attach it to the ring 74 as setforth hereinabove. The drum assembly 56 has a shaft 88 received throughthe center of each of the end plates 72 to provide the axis of rotationtherefor. The shaft 88 is received at each end thereof in a bearingblock 90 which blocks are fixed to the horizontal base of the invertedU-shaped members 68. One end of the shaft 88 extends outwardly beyondthe bearing block 90 at 92 and has mounted thereon a V-belt pulley 94 tobe driven thereby. The motor assembly 58 has a base plate 96 attachedbetween the front cross braces 20 and 24 to support the motor thereon.The motor 98 may be any suitable and convenient source of power whichmight be an internal combustion engine, or, if electrical power is nearat hand, an electrical motor. The motor 98 is enclosed by a housing 100with the drive shaft 102 thereof extending out one end thereof as at104, and joumaled in a bearing block 106 mounted on the longitudinalside rail 18. The end 104 ofthe drive shaft has a V-belt pulley 108mounted thereon, which is similar to the V-belt pulley 94 with asuitable number of belts I 10 extending therearound to transmit thedriving force from the motor to the chipping drum assembly. As can beseen from the mounting of the chipping drum assembly and the motorassembly 58 the two main components thereof are mounted on the chassis,thereby preventing loads generated by the chipping of the wood to betransmitted to the housing and other assemblies not sufficiently strongto absorb such loads. This is accomplished by the joumaling of thechipping drum in the bearing blocks 90 which are mounted on the members68 from the side rails of the chassis as well as the mounting ofthemotor to the chassis by the plate 96 and the bearing block therefor 106The log chamber is attached to the rear of the chipping drum housing 54and has a pair of sidewalls H2 which extend longitudinally of thechassis and are coplanar with the side plates 62 of the drum housing Thesidewalls 112 are fixed to the top surface of the longitudinal beams 18and are held in parallel spaced relation by their connections therewithand to the housing 54. The sidewalls 112 have a door 114 extendingtherebetween at the top edge of and hinged to one of the sidewalls 112by hinge members 116. The chamber 60 has a series of rollers 1l8joumaled for rotation at the upper edge of the longitudinal beams 18so that when logs are placed in the chamber through the door 114 theycan be easily rolled therealong into engagement with the chipping drumassembly A chip chute assembly 120 is fastened between the longitudinalbeams 18 and the side plates 62 of the chipping drum housing. The chipchute has two side plates 122 attached to the inner vertical surfaces ofthe longitudinal beams 18 and a front plate 124 attached between theside plates and extending along the aforementioned inner verticalsurface of the beam 118 up into the housing adjacent the circumferenceof the chipping drum assembly A rear plate 126 of the chip chute isattached between the side plates 122 of the chute and extends upwardlyto a point adjacent the rollers H8 and the circumference of the chippingdrum assembly Thereby. when the chipping drum rotates in a clockwisedirection thereby shaving the chips in a downward direction they arecollected by the aforementioned chute and funneled into a relativelysmall discharge stream 128.

The feeding mechanism 16 for the chipping device is mounted on a base130 which has a horizontal surface 132 connected to the rear cross beams22 and 26 by two vertically downward extending legs 134. A hydraulic ramassembly 136 is attached to the center of the horizontal surface 132 ina longitudinal direction aligned with the center of the log chamber 60.The hydraulic ram assembly has suitable connections 13.8 to provide forextension and retraction of the piston rod 140 thereof. The piston rod140 of the hydraulic ram assembly has a plate 142 attached at one endthereof. The plate 142 is approximately the same cross-sectional area asthe log chamber 60 and acts as the piston therefor to drive a log placedtherein into engagement with the chipping drum assembly.

Thus, the operation of the chipping device is relatively simple in thatwhen it is desired to produce chips, a log is simply placed into the logchamber 60 through the door 114 thereof and the door closed thereon toprevent any danger from the movement of parts therein. The hydraulic ramis then extended to drive the tree section placed therein intoengagement with the clockwise rotating chipping drum assembly. As thelog advances into contact with the chipping drum the teeth 78 thereonrip out chips of wood and by centrifugal force discharge them downwardlywhere they are collected by the chute 120 and discharged in a stream 128therefrom. To facilitate a possible packaging of the chips, if desired,a conveyor assembly 144 could be positioned under the discharge stream128 to carry the chips to an appropriate packaging unit.

The device shown in FIG. 6 of the drawing is essentially the same as theprevious embodiment in FIGS. 1-5 except that the device pictured thereinis self-propelled. To accomplish the self-propulsion of the chassisassembly 12 it is necessary only to provide the front of the vehiclewith a pair of dirigible wheels 146 in place of the previous disclosedfixed front wheels 46. Similarly, the motor 98 could be increased inpower to provide propulsion to these front wheels and thereby drive theentire device. With the rest of the details being essentially the samefurther discussion of the self-propelled embodiment of FIG. 6 is notdeemed necessary.

The drum assembly shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is a modification of the basicdrum assembly to provide relatively large chips. The drum assembly 148comprises a cylindrical surface I50 of the same extent as the drumsurface 70 of the previous embodiment. and is closed by end plates I52thereon. Similarly the axis of rotation is provided by a shaft 154extendmg through the end plates 152 of the drum assembly 148 to beournaled in the bearing blocks 90 on the vehicle. The teeth 156 of thisembodiment differ from the teeth 78 of the previous embodiment in sizeand also the base members 158 of these teeth have a number of screws 160holding the tooth member 156 thereon. The additional number of screwsare required to compensate for the additional load placed thereon by thelarger tooth members. The chisel point or blade 162 of the teethgenerally flares upward and outwardly to dislodge a larger chunk of woodthan the narrower teeth 78 of the previous embodiment. Also, the teeth156 are placed in groups 164 around the circumference of the drumassembly 148. The teeth of the group 164 are attached to the cylindricalsurface of the drum assembly by the screws being received in threadedholes in the circumference of the drum. It is apparent from theconstruction of the drum assembly 56 and 148 that the two methods ofattaching the teeth thereon are suitable to both installations, forexample, the teeth of the drum as sembly 148 could be held thereon bythe same rings 74 as used on the previous embodiment 56 as well as theteeth of. the previous embodiment could be attached directly to thesurface of the drum thereof by their bolts being received in threadedopenings.

The device as set forth Ieereinabove can be seen to be an unique andefficient device in that it provides for a wood chipping device that canbe transported to the site of the wood to be chipped or to the placewhere the chips are to be used. The device is relatively safe in thatall of the moving or dangerous components are enclosed, and the wood ispower fed into the chipping assembly. The device lends itself to beingself-propelled or towed, which further adds to the .convenience thereof.

1 claim:

1. In combination, an elongated mobile chassis including opposite endsand elongated opposite sides longitudinal frame members interconnectedat their opposite ends by front and rear pairs of longitudinally spacedtransverse frame members, a rearwardly and downwardly opening chippingdrum housing supported from said longitudinal frame members rearwardlyof said front pair of transverse frame members and opening rearwardlyalong a path whose center is spaced above said longitudinal framemembers, support means carriedby said chassis for supporting a log inlengthwise disposition on said chassis behind said housing andlongitudinal forward advancement along said chassis with its centergenerally coinciding with the center of said path, extendable motormeans supported from the rear transverse members of said chassis forengaging the rear end of a log disposed on said support means andforcing said log forwardly into the open rear end of saidhousing, saidhousing having adriven transverse rotary chipping drum journaled thereinhaving its axis of rotation generally intersecting with the center ofsaid path, and an upstanding chip discharge chute supported between saidlongitudinal members below said drum with its upper inlet end positionedto receive chips of wood cut from said log by said drum and its lowerdischarge end opening downwardly for downward discharge of chipstherefrom.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said mobile chassis includes motormeans supported from said front pair of transverse frame members anddrivingly connected to said chipping drum.

3. The combination of claim ,1 wherein said extendable motor meanscomprises a fluid motor including a cylinder portion and a piston rodportion extendable relative to said cylinder portion, said cylinderportion being supported from said rear pair of transverse members andgenerally coinciding with said center of said path, piston rod portionbeing disposed for engagement with the central portion of the rear faceof the log disposed on said support means.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said mobile chassis includes frontand rear ground-engaging support wheel means for ready rolling transportfrom one location to another.

1. In combination, an elongated mobile chassis including opposite endsand elongated opposite sides longitudinal frame members interconnectedat their opposite ends by front and rear pairs of longitudinally spacedtransverse frame members, a rearwardly and downwardly opening chippingdrum housing supported from said longitudinal frame members rearwardlyof said front pair of transverse frame members and opening rearwardlyalong a pAth whose center is spaced above said longitudinal framemembers, support means carried by said chassis for supporting a log inlengthwise disposition on said chassis behind said housing andlongitudinal forward advancement along said chassis with its centergenerally coinciding with the center of said path, extendable motormeans supported from the rear transverse members of said chassis forengaging the rear end of a log disposed on said support means andforcing said log forwardly into the open rear end of said housing, saidhousing having a driven transverse rotary chipping drum journaledtherein having its axis of rotation generally intersecting with thecenter of said path, and an upstanding chip discharge chute supportedbetween said longitudinal members below said drum with its upper inletend positioned to receive chips of wood cut from said log by said drumand its lower discharge end opening downwardly for downward discharge ofchips therefrom.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said mobilechassis includes motor means supported from said front pair oftransverse frame members and drivingly connected to said chipping drum.3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said extendable motor meanscomprises a fluid motor including a cylinder portion and a piston rodportion extendable relative to said cylinder portion, said cylinderportion being supported from said rear pair of transverse members andgenerally coinciding with said center of said path, piston rod portionbeing disposed for engagement with the central portion of the rear faceof the log disposed on said support means.
 4. The combination of claim 3wherein said support means comprises a plurality of longitudinally spacegenerally horizontal and transversely extending rollers journaled fromand extending between said longitudinal frame members.
 5. Thecombination of claim 4 wherein said mobile chassis includes front andrear ground-engaging support wheel means for ready rolling transportfrom one location to another.